Parents prepared to spend hundreds of thousands of pounds to get their children into UK's most desirable schools

Families across the country are willing to spend hundreds of thousands more on a house if it means they can get their child a place at a desirable state school.

Properties located near ‘outstanding’ Ofsted rated schools are being sold for a fifth more than the local average, with parents in Brighton spending more than £150,000 extra on catchment area houses.

Research from online estate agents HouseSimple.com found St Luke’s Primary School in Brighton and Hove to be the most desirable state school in the country, with houses nearby costing around 45 per cent more than the average for the local area.

Of the primary schools surveyed, more than half with the biggest draw for parents are in the south of England. Crowland Primary School in Haringey came in close second, with buyers willing to spend an £193,816 more on average, to live near high-achieving Crowland Primary School.

According to the figures, there are some areas offering better value to live close to “outstanding” schools – properties surrounding The Mayflower Primary School in Essex, Henry Cavendish Primary School in Lambeth and Highfields Primary School in Leicester all sold for slightly less than the average price for the local area, despite obtaining enviable results from inspectors.

While a year’s boarding school fees at Eton College cost the nation’s aristocrats £32,000 per year, parents are paying a national average of almost £44,000 in order to secure places near the best state-funded schools.

Last month, thousands of children missed out on primary school places due to oversubscription

One in four primary schools is now said to be full or overcapacity, causing alarm among new parents who face vying for places along with a further 295,000 more pupils expected to enrol by 2020.

Alex Gosling, CEO of HouseSimple.com said: “Private education is out of reach for many families, which is why there is high demand for places at top rated state primary schools. But there aren’t enough places to go around, which has led property prices in the catchment areas of popular primary schools to rocket in recent years.

“Attending an outstanding state school can offer an education as good as, if not better, than paying to go private, but with property prices close to the best state schools commanding average premiums of 18%, paying the price to live close by certainly doesn’t equate to a free education.”